Ichigo was right.
She knew she was going to regret agreeing to Pudding's hair-brained scheme – but that was before she found herself being dragged down the white halls of the compound by the younger mew, late into the evening, with a cloak drawn over her head and a feeling like she was about to be in a lot of trouble.
Pudding, despite her short stature, was incredibly strong. Maybe it was her acrobatic athleticism, but Ichigo felt as though her arm was about to be torn out of its socket as Pudding rushed her through the winding halls of the compound. She passed under the red willow draping into the hall, doing her best to memorize the way back. After all, no one knew they were sneaking out of their room. Ira wouldn't be around to lead them back.
Their destination? The center of the compound – the recreational center of the whole structure. Pudding had found a map of the building earlier that day, tucked in the bookcase up against one of the walls of their common space. The map appeared to be written in Loq – all looping, wide letters that looked more like a Western language of Earth – but Ichigo was able to find the meeting rooms, and the docking bay where they'd first landed the ship. From there, she traced their route through the network of curved hallways until she found the cluster of residential rooms – and finally, their quarters where they were staying.
Ichigo didn't realize until they were halfway to the compound center that she'd forgotten the map.
She realized dejectedly that Lettuce really was the brains of the group. Would Lettuce have forgotten something as important as their map? Of course not. But then again, Lettuce would have never agreed to adventure around an alien compound where Ichigo was fairly certain a handful of their government officials hated them.
Instead, Lettuce spent the day being pruned and pampered by Ichigo, Pudding and Ira. Pudding insisted on finding a way to play music off of her nearly-dead phone – and Ira delivered, spending no small amount of time finding a way to adapt the charging port of the phone to some kind of speaker-like device. Pop music blared loud enough through their quarters that Ichigo was sure it could be heard all up and down the halls. The mood in their room lifted as the day wore on, the memories of the council meeting fading with every laugh, every hug exchanged between the girls.
And then, just as the light began to turn red with the setting sun, word came to Ira that the date was still on – albeit a little later than planned.
Lettuce was overjoyed. Ichigo was, too – after all, they couldn't let Lettuce's outfit go to waste.
When she was finally done getting ready – hair, makeup and all – Lettuce looked like nothing short of a goddess.
She wore a sapphire blue, full-length dress that shimmered violet in the light as she turned. The dress was in two pieces – as was the style in the local culture – the waist in the shape of a V ending just below her navel, and the boat-necked bodice connected to wide, billowing sleeves made of silky chiffon beginning just at the edge of her shoulders. The overall effect was like she was dressed in the waves of the ocean – powerful, regal and altogether stunning.
With her hair curled in waves and styled half-up, half-down, Lettuce was the very picture of elegance.
They'd shooed Lettuce out the door with haste, with Ira following her to help ecourt her to her date. It was then that Ichigo learned Pie was planning the date in the compound's study, a short distance from the compound center. She thought it was odd until Ira mentioned offhandedly that it housed the compound's library, and that Pie wanted to show her some things there before dinner. Lettuce had practically lit up with excitement.
Maybe Pie wasn't so bad at planning dates after all.
However, as Ichigo hastily snuck through the compound with Pudding, she knew finding the entrance to the study wasn't the first stop of their plans. They'd be heading to the kitchens, first.
Pudding called Lettuce a "picky eater," but Ichigo knew better. Lettuce had been vegan since the age of 8, and she was also allergic to sesame, lentils and nightshades. Ichigo had quickly learned about Lettuce's allergies while trying to eat out with her on weekends – trying to order off a menu at any restaurant was no small feat, and Lettuce was usually too shy to ask wait staff for special requests on menus. Ichigo had gotten used to asking questions and pestering wait staff in Lettuce's stead.
So when Pudding suggested they talk to the kitchen staff of the compound, Ichigo couldn't help but agree that they could potentially come to Lettuce's rescue. After all, nothing could be worse during a date than a horrid allergic reaction.
It wasn't until they were nearly to the compound center that it dawned on Ichigo – did the people here even have the same foods as Earth? Everything they'd eaten so far since they'd been here had been somewhat similar to something they'd eat on Earth. If anything, the foods they made on Novutera were culturally similar to what Ichigo knew as West Asian food – with lots of heat, spice and rich red sauces mixed with colorful vegetables. But no ingredients here could possibly have the same names as their equivalents on Earth, right? So how would Ichigo know what Lettuce would be allergic to, if anything?
She'd do her best, she decided.
Still, Ichigo couldn't shake the feeling that this was a really, really stupid idea.
It was too late now – Pudding and Ichigo arrived at the end of the winding hall, and they soon found themselves at the center of the compound.
It was absolutely beautiful, bustling with people dining together and talking loudly over each other in the huge, echoey space. The compound center was massive, with a glass domed ceiling, supported by pillars climbing with lush green vines and tiny white flowers. Trees spilled into the space from the cliffside on one end of the building, where most of the center occupants were sitting in lounge areas full of low tables and couches sunken into the floors. Off to Ichigo's left, she could see a few rooms, a hallway leading to what looked like some sort of training area, and an opening out to a deck facing the outside. The space was bathed in the reddish light of the setting sun. A few glowing lamps in the shape of white spheres sat in the center of the sunken couches and on the walls around them.
Ichigo figured it would be easy to blend in here, with all of the people busy in their own conversations. She kept her head down and walked arm-in-arm with Pudding towards the smells of fresh-baked bread and something that smelled like curried chicken. Sure enough, Ichigo could see what she was sure was the compound's kitchen – a reddish-painted structure built into one side of the recreational center, with space in the front for residents to sit on a cushioned bench, collect food and chat with the staff.
Pudding steered Ichigo off to the side of the kitchen, undoubtedly searching for a back entrance. "Okay, we're here!" she called up to Ichigo in a hushed voice.
"Wait, hang on!" Ichigo hissed. She spun Pudding around to face her. She blinked up at Ichigo with bright, chestnut-colored eyes. "Do you think we should just try to talk to someone at the front? Before we, I don't know, surprise them?"
"Hmmmm," Pudding thought, tapping a finger on her chin. "Well, there's lots of people crowded around the front, right? Do we wanna blow our cover in front of all of 'em, or chance it with getting kicked out of the kitchen?"
Ichigo frowned. Pudding was right – there were people seated in front of the kitchen bar and crowded in clusters where they collected bowls and plates of the kitchen's fare. She wasn't sure how any of them would react seeing the mews walking around out in the open, without any security around them. Whoever was in the kitchen – and part of the staff – were far more likely to be kind to them than whoever happened to be patronizing the commons.
"Fine, you're right," Ichigo agreed. She was beginning to regret this plan more by the minute. "Alright, let's go!"
Pudding clapped her hands, straightening her back and grinning determinately. She spun on her heel and marched towards what Ichigo figured was the back entrance to the kitchen. The double doors slid open automatically as Pudding neared them, walking like she had a purpose.
As soon as Ichigo peered inside the kitchen, she was hit in the face with hot steam and decadent smells that made her stomach roar with hunger. The space was loud with the clanging of plates and chatter between staff in Loq. Pudding shrugged the hood from her cloak and marched down the center of the narrow kitchen, eyeballing the staff as if she was in charge of the whole operation.
The kitchen staff – a mix of young and old Viatorem, about ten in number, were too busy to notice them at first, calling out orders to each other and throwing dishes back and forth down the line. But as soon as Pudding began inclining her head over their shoulders and picking up items off of the counters, they did a double-take.
One of them yelled at Pudding in Loq – whatever he said was harsh, loud. Pudding didn't even flinch, yelling "hey!" up at the cook and pointing at her ears. This only confused the cook more, who said something else in Loq to the younger, female cook next to him. She blinked over at Pudding, shrugged, and resumed chopping some kind of purple vegetable. The older cook whistled and called out something over his shoulder.
Ichigo was nearly ready to pull Pudding out of the kitchen by her collar. If none of the staff could speak Japanese, this mission was dead in the water.
Then, Ichigo spied a shorter person bounding around the corner on the far end of the kitchen. She had to be no older than 10 years old – a tiny girl, with ears too big for her pixie-like face. She had golden blonde hair that bobbed in a high ponytail as she bounced over to the girls.
"Hey! What are you two doing in my kitchen?!" the little girl demanded in perfect Japanese. She stopped in front of Pudding and crossed her arms. Her piercing grey eyes glared up at Pudding indignantly. She wore a plain white apron over a casual, light blue dress.
"Your kitchen?" Pudding repeated. "Aw come on, you're just a little squirt!"
"You're a kid, too!" the girl spat back. Her eyes narrowed. She tilted her head to one side, then the other. "Wait – round ears? Weird eyes? You're one of those human girls from Earth, aren't you? That's why the cooks couldn't talk to you – you don't know Loq at all! You're one of Tokyo Mew Mew!"
"I–yes, we're from Tokyo Mew Mew," Ichigo interrupted. She lowered the hood of her cloak from her head as Pudding and the small girl turned to her, "I'm Ichigo Momomiya, and this is my friend Pudding Fong."
The girl blinked in surprise. After a moment of thought, a grin split across her face, revealing tiny, sharp canines in her pearly white teeth. "Well, in that case, I guess you can stay," she declared. The little girl placed one hand on her chest. "My name is Momo. My dad is the head chef here, so I can show ya around if ya want!"
"I– yes, that would be wonderful! But we actually have a favor to ask!" Ichigo replied with a grin. "We're actually here because our friend Lettuce is on a date here in the commons, and she needs her food made special otherwise she'll get sick. Can you help us?"
Momo's ears perked up. "Lettuce? Hm, that's odd. We haven't heard anything about a special delivery for someone named Lettuce."
"Wait, that can't be right!" Pudding exclaimed. "I'm sure it's somewhere around here. She's on a date with Pie!"
Momo blinked. "You're not making any sense," she said with a frown. "Prince Pie has a meeting with a general we're preparing food for. I didn't hear nothing 'bout a date!"
The small girl reached up and plucked a tablet from a docking station on the counter and tapped through it hurriedly. She was awfully quick on her feet for being such a young age — she could hardly reach the center of the counters. "Besides, I don't know how well you know him, but Pie is not the kinda guy to arrange a dinner date. See?"
Momo held up the tablet screen. It was all in Loq — as good as gibberish for Ichigo and Pudding.
"Uhhh," Ichigo started, "...do you have this in Japanese?"
Momo rolled her eyes dramatically and let out a long, arduous sigh. "Ughhh, right," she groaned. "Foreigners. Okay, okay, so basically what it says here—" she tapped the text on the screen, "— is that the private order meant to be delivered to Pie is being delivered to him and General Kade in the —"
"— study," Ichigo interrupted. "In the study, because that's where Pie's date with our friend Lettuce."
As soon as Ichigo said it aloud, it clicked — Pie was hiding the date on purpose. It was another attempt to protect their relationship from the public eye. Ichigo couldn't help but feel impressed. Pie was always the diplomat, always the strategist. His plan to keep his relationship with Lettuce under wraps was wise. Rational.
Her mind began to tumble back to memories of what happened after the council meeting that morning. Hands sliding down to her hips, fervent kisses on her neck.
Ichigo pulled herself from the depths of the memory with a slight shake of her head. A twinge of envy was left in its place. Why do I get stuck with the impulsive idiot?
"I think Pie wants to keep the date a secret," Ichigo said finally. "He knows things would get a little … um, complicated if everyone around us knew they were together."
"Makes sense to me!" Pudding agreed with a nod. "Maybe Pie isn't so bad at this dating thing after all!"
"Momo!" A loud, bellowing voice sounded from the other side of the kitchen. The same voice called out a question in Loq as Momo turned to listen. She called back something else in Loq before turning her attention back to Ichigo and Pudding.
"That's my dad!" Momo announced proudly. "He wants to meet ya too!"
Ichigo looked down the line of cooks, the flurry of passed dishes and pans, and the plumes of steam rising through the kitchen until she could see a man approaching from around the corner. His huge, bulky frame and his massive height made him look like a near-giant. As he approached, Ichigo tried to swallow the lump forming in her throat. His square jaw was set, a sheen of sweat slicking his forehead as he examined the mews. The chef looked terrifying.
"Well, what have we got here?" he asked in heavily accented Japanese. Momo clutched onto his side, wrapping her arms around her dad's middle.
"Daddy, these are my new friends — Mew Ichigo and Mew Pudding!"
The chef squinted down at Ichigo and Pudding at first, and Ichigo was seconds away from begging for his forgiveness for the intrusion. After all, the man looked like a bodybuilder. But instead, the chef straightened up and dusted his hands together nonchalantly. They sounded like sandpaper when he rubbed them together, rough and worn.
"Well, I'll be!" he exclaimed finally. He said something to Momo in Loq, and she giggled. His attention returned to the mews. "I didn't think I'd get a chance to meet any of you! And here you are – Tokyo Mew Mew waltzing into my kitchen!"
"I—uh, we're sorry to bother you," Ichigo laughed nervously. She rubbed the back of her neck. "We won't keep you long, I promise!"
"We're helping our friend on a date!" Pudding added, her face beaming with excitement. Obviously, the chef didn't intimidate her in the slightest. "She's on a super secret date with Pie!"
The chef hesitated for a moment before bursting out in loud, bellowing laughter. It made Ichigo flinch, and she could swear she felt his laugh through the bones of her teeth. "Well that's about the strangest thing I've heard today, but it can't get much stranger than the mews showing up here during dinner hour!"
The chef put his hand to his heart and gave a short bow at the waist. "You can call me Torin. You'll have to excuse my Japanese. I was too old to learn it in schooling, so I'm learning at the same time as my daughter."
"Your Japanese is great!" Pudding commended. "Japanese isn't my first language either, so I get it!"
"Wait, what is your first language?" Momo asked.
"Mandarin! My family is from China."
Momo's eyes widened in fascination. "Wow, so cool!"
Pudding was grinning ear-to-ear with excitement over her newfound friend. Ichigo wondered if she was missing her siblings. After all, Pudding was the caretaker for all of her little siblings, some of which were probably around Momo's age. Momo probably reminded her of them — all wide eyes and excited energy.
Ichigo made a mental note to ask Pudding about how she was feeling later. Beneath her usual chipper exterior, she was probably worried sick, being so far away from her family.
"So, how can I help you two?" Torin asked. "Something about this date your friend is on?"
"Right!" Ichigo said. "Our friend Lettuce is allergic to … erm, I don't even know if the foods are the same here as on Earth, but she can't eat sesame, lentils or nightshades, or anything with animal products, including meat."
Torin scratched his head. "Huh, ok. I know the whole meat thing is no problem. We have a few people here who don't eat animal products either. But you'll have to describe the other ingredients as we go, and we'll leave out anything like it from the menu. Sound good?"
Ichigo looked to Pudding. Both girls grinned and nodded. Ichigo couldn't believe her luck — the plan was actually working.
"Yes!" Ichigo agreed.
"Great!" Momo agreed with a cheer. "Let's get cooking!"
The next half-hour flew by in a whirl of taste-tests, messes and laughter as the girls worked together to put together the perfect menu for the date. As Ichigo had predicted, Pudding was quick to make friends with Momo, showing off by juggling plates and leaping over countertops. Momo clapped in fascination, demanding "More tricks!" in every spare minute they had.
Ichigo worked with Torin to carefully pick out what she knew Lettuce could and couldn't eat. She soon learned that the original pilgrims to Novutera had brought a lot of plants and animals with them to propagate the new planet. Many of the foods on the planet were relatives to foods found on Earth. Things like mushrooms were relatively common; citrus fruits were still scarce, but growing in production now that the planet had a warmer climate. The final menu they settled on consisted of three parts. The starter was a delicate salad with fresh vegetables drizzled in rich oils and garnished with an earthy nut Ichigo couldn't quite identify. The entree was a creamy risotto-like dish made of tender grains and buttery oils extracted from a fruit with white flesh. And for dessert — a cream-free rendition of a strawberry shortcake.
Ichigo laughed when Torin showed her the fruit. Their strawberries were small — almost blackberry-sized, and so dark they were nearly purple in color. But they looked nearly identical otherwise.
"Do you know what this fruit is called in Japanese?" Ichigo asked with a grin.
Torin was finishing the final garnish of a sugary strawberry reduction as he shook his head.
"Can't say I do!"
"It's called an ichigo!"
Torin looked up with a grin. His eyes fell on her ruby red hair.
"Well I'll be! What a fitting name for a strawberry-haired girl!" he exclaimed. He took the reduction off the heat of the stove, glanced behind Ichigo, and whistled. "Hey, Momo! Can you get runners to send the plates out? We're about ready to serve!"
"Oh! Wait!" Ichigo interjected, waving her hands, "Pudding and I— well, uh, can we go with Momo when we send everything out?"
She punctuated the question with a smile and folded her hands behind her back. As thrilled as Ichigo was that they had made it this far with their plan, she still had small amounts of concern that the date was going to go badly wrong — either by someone attempting to ruin it on purpose, or by Pie messing it up on his own accord. A little bit of spying couldn't hurt, right?
Luckily, Torin only blinked for a moment before shrugging. "Don't see why not," he replied. "Want to see your masterpieces delivered?"
"I— yeah, you could say that!" Ichigo agreed.
Torin chuckled and wiped his hands on a tea towel before throwing it over his shoulder. "Well, I don't suppose you'd like to stick around in a sweaty kitchen the rest of the night," he said, "so I want to say – thanks for everything, Mew Ichigo. It means a lot to me that you and your friend came to visit Momo and I today."
He paused, glancing back over Ichigo's shoulder, where Pudding was showing Momo how to balance a plate on her head. "My daughter doesn't have a lot of friends here in the commons. You've really made her feel special."
Ichigo was beaming. She clasped her hands to her heart and nodded. "Oh, of course!" she sang. "Thank you for allowing us to help you out here! I know we probably slowed down your kitchen quite a bit. But we had a lot of fun! And I know that our friend is going to love your food."
Momo marched up to Ichigo's side, grinning up at Ichigo before turning her attention to her dad. "Ready to go!" she announced.
"Good!" Torin said with a nod. "The mews will be accompanying you to the study to help deliver the plates."
"Yay!" Momo cheered. Ichigo saw that Pudding was already loading plates on a serving cart, with help from some of the other kitchen staff.
"One more thing, Ichigo," Torin said. "I have a lot of leftover fruit from today's dessert. I was thinking of making some breakfast treats tomorrow – would you like to pick up a box in the morning? As a thank you for your help tonight?"
Ichigo nodded, her smile stretching wide across her face. "Yes, I would love that! Thank you so much!"
A twinkle flashed in Torin's eye. "My pleasure! Now, you three had better get going before the food gets cold."
The three girls found themselves bustled out the doorway with the tray of food and a couple members of the kitchen staff accompanying them with a bucket of ice and a large tray too big for the serving cart. Ichigo and Pudding kept their heads down as they walked with the small group around the other end of the compound center and down one of the winding hallways.
They hadn't made it more than a minute out of the kitchen before Pudding nudged Momo with her elbow and exclaimed, "Hey Momo! Do you know of any good hiding spots around the study? Somewhere Ichigo and I can watch how the date is going?"
Momo startled back in confusion. "Wait, what? You're going to do all of this work for your friend, and you're not gonna, like, talk to 'em?"
"Well, uh," Ichigo interjected sheepishly, "we were kind of planning on keeping it a secret that we were doing anything for Lettuce's date. We don't really want her to know we're getting involved in her personal business, after all."
"Hmm, alright!" Momo said with a nod. "Weird, but okay! You're my guest, so you can do watchya like! So, like, do you want us to keep it a secret that you helped with the food, too?"
The group took a slight right down another hallway with glass walls that opened out to the dark, night sky outside. "Yep!" Pudding exclaimed. "It's a behind-the-scenes mission to make her date perfect! And we're the sneaky spies!"
"Oh, cool!" Momo exclaimed. She seemed to understand much easier when Pudding explained their plan. The young girl said something in Loq to the two kitchen staff members with them. The two older men exchanged curious looks before replying – in Loq – and shrugging.
Momo turned back to Ichigo and Pudding with a grin.
"They said the plan is a go!"
Torin was elbow-deep in soapy water when the sound of an incoming message chimed from their electronic order system. He ignored the sound, leaving it to one of the other staff, focused on scrubbing the set of mixing bowls from dinner prep that evening.
"Uh, boss?" a voice came from his left.
He glanced over at one of his staff and immediately knew it was bad. The young chef had a look on his face like he had seen a ghost.
"What is it, Juji?" Torin asked gruffly. "I don't have all day."
"I-It's an all-staff alert," Juji stammered. "From the ops manager, Ira. On behalf of the Council of Princes. It says, uh…"
"What, Juji? Spit it out."
"It says Mew Ichigo and Mew Pudding are missing."
Momo made quick work of finding a spot where they could peek in on the date happening in the study. Ichigo was easily the most clumsy of their trio – Momo was small and quick on her feet, and Pudding was an acrobatic wonder, climbing and hoisting herself up on surfaces with hardly a whisper of noise. Ichigo awkwardly followed them as they made their way through the maze of crates, boxes and old electronic equipment stored in the rooms on the second story of the study.
The vast study was mostly concentrated in the lower level, where there were cases upon cases of beautifully-organized books in a sizable library, and a lounge area with a roaring fire and a sunken couch wrapping all around the warm, glowing light. The second floor, which opened up to the first floor in the center, was only reachable by a metal spiral staircase. The second floor had more bookshelves lined all along the edges like a row of dominos, dustier and less frequented than the books in the study's first floor.
What most people didn't know was that the second floor could also be reached by going in through the old offices on one wall of the second floor. Abandoned long ago, they were now used as storage, but served useful to the mews since they had their own access from a narrow stairwell around the corner from the study's doors.
There, Ichigo cringed and flinched as Pudding attempted to open the glass door that led out to the second floor bookshelves. The old hinges gave a light creak, and all 3 girls seized up anxiously.
"Shhh!" Momo hissed.
"This place is old as heck!" Pudding muttered. She slowly pushed the door open a few more inches. Carefully, silently, she swung it open until it was wide enough to squeeze through.
Pudding turned, signaled with a finger over her lips to "shush", and crawled through the narrow opening of the door. Momo followed suit, then Ichigo.
Ichigo's hip bumped against the frame of the door as she crawled through. Both blonde girls turned their heads to glare at her. Ichigo grimaced and crawled more slowly, taking care to squeeze her way through without another sound.
Ichigo was surprised at how easily she could hear what was going on from the 2nd floor balcony level. The three girls all laid down on their bellies, peering over the edge of the floor and down to the first level beneath. Ichigo could see just over a row of bookcases towards where Pie and Lettuce were seated on the sunken couch in front of the fire. Neither one faced directly towards them. Thankfully, the bookcases provided some cover between where the girls were peeking over the ledge down to where the two lovebirds were seated on the other side of the huge study.
Lettuce's dress shimmered in the light of the fire, her long, silky green hair draped over one shoulder. She had a stack of books as high as her shoulder piled on the corner of the table. She was flipping through another on her lap as she speared a vegetable from the plate in front of her.
"Your history of the Edo period seems to be incomplete," she remarked. She popped the vegetable – round and red, like a radish – in her mouth and thumbed through the book's contents as she chewed. "Though it's impressive you managed to have this all translated into Loq. This will be a good one to take back with me."
Ichigo couldn't help but notice how Pie's eyes never left Lettuce. He nodded thoughtfully, picking at his own plate without looking at it. Pie watched Lettuce like she was the most fascinating thing in the universe.
Lettuce didn't look up once. Ichigo wondered if she knew the way Pie looked at her.
Lettuce set down her fork, closed the book and set it on top of the precariously high stack on the table. "Anyway," she sighed, "if I'm going to start learning Loq, history books probably aren't the place to start."
"Like any language, I'd recommend you start with more elementary educational content," Pie said. He nodded to the pile of books. "I'm sure those primary-level textbooks will be most useful for your first few months of studies."
"Oh, I'm sure!" Lettuce said cheerfully. "I know I'll probably be at a preschool-level for a couple months before I can even start to form complex sentences or begin accurately translating from Japanese. After all, Loq is more of a Latin language than Japanese."
"Sorry, 'preschool'?" Pie said quietly. He cocked his head to one side.
Lettuce immediately appeared flustered. "Ah! Right, um … before primary school? Schooling before the age of five or six?"
"Unfortunately I don't think we have anything of that sort," Pie said flatly.
Lettuce sighed dejectedly and picked up the plate of her main dish. She smiled to herself. "Well then, I have a terrible amount still to learn, don't I?"
A moment of silence passed between them as Lettuce pushed the risotto around on her plate. Slowly, cautiously, Pie reached out and placed one hand on Lettuce's knee. She flinched at the touch, startling in her seat and blinking up at Pie. He recoiled his hand for a moment before returning it softly.
"If I may – try not to be so harsh on yourself," he said. "I've had my entire upbringing to learn Japanese. Learning a new culture and the language of its people is no small feat. It will come in time."
Lettuce smiled warmly. Ichigo could barely make out a flush forming on her face. "I … thank you," Lettuce murmured.
Pie slid his hand off her knee, picking up his main dish to match Lettuce. "Hopefully," Lettuce added, "I can be good enough to practice Loq with you soon! That should help me learn much faster."
Pudding elbowed Ichigo in the side. Ichigo glanced over at her. "This date is going amazing!" Pudding whispered with a grin.
"I've never seen Pie on a date before," Momo whispered from Pudding's other side. "It's pretty weird."
Ichigo motioned both of them to "shush" with one finger. She wondered to herself whether they should all take their leave, now that the food was delivered successfully and there didn't appear to be anyone else around in the study to look out for. Ichigo was glad the date seemed to be going down without a hitch, but curiosity nipped at her mind, urging her to stay and listen in a minute or two more.
She was just about to ask Pudding if she wanted to leave when the door creaked behind them.
Ichigo whipped her head over her shoulder and found herself staring right into a positively pissed-off looking Tart. Ichigo's jaw fell open in shock. How did he find us?
"It's Tart!" Momo exclaimed in an excited whisper. "Er, um, Prince Tart? Sorry, that still sounds kinda weird to me."
"What the hell are you three idiots doing?" Tart hissed.
All 3 girls "shushed" him immediately and scooted away from the edge of the 2nd floor ledge.
"Quiet, Tar-Tar!" Pudding whispered. She reached out and pulled Tart's wrist down towards her. He quietly dropped to kneel on the floor. His scowl quickly morphed into a confused, open-mouthed frown. Pudding whispered by his ear: "We're on a mission! We're making sure Lettuce and Pie's date is perfect-o!"
"Wait, what?" Tart whispered back harshly. "Do you three even know that the whole damn compound is looking for you?"
Now, it was Ichigo's turn to be confused. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Ichigo whispered.
"You heard me, old hag," Tart whispered. "Ira found your room empty and didn't know where you went. The entirety of the commons staff are on a manhunt for you two morons right now."
He let out a huff. "And over what? To spy on your friend's date? You two are insufferable."
"I can explain!" Ichigo replied quickly, crawling closer to Pudding and Tart. "You see, Lettuce has food allergies and after the council meeting–"
Ichigo was interrupted by the shock of seeing another figure coming around the corner of the glass doors. She locked on to piercing gold eyes, widening in surprise.
"Are you kidding m–"
Ichigo, Tart, Momo and Pudding all whispered "shhh" at the same time, silencing Quiche as he side-stepped the door left ajar. Ichigo motioned him to get down. Quiche reluctantly fell into a cross-legged seat on the floor. Momo glanced between both boys excitedly.
"Do you know what I've been through in the past 10 minutes looking for you?" Quiche hissed, fixing Ichigo with an accusing glare. "I thought you two were in serious trouble. What the hell were you thinking?"
Ichigo stubbornly glared back. She wasn't in the mood to be talked down to by him. "Well I wasn't expecting to get caught!" she fired back. "What was Ira doing in our rooms anyway? We dismissed her after Lettuce left for her date!"
"Does it matter?" Quiche countered. "You scared the shit out of everyone!"
"Maybe you shouldn't have jumped to the worst conclusion!"
"Maybe you should have told someone other than the damn kitchen staff that you were going to be wandering around without security the whole night!"
"Will you two stop your bickering?" Tart hissed. Ichigo snapped out of her argument with Quiche. She realized they had been moving closer and closer together. Quiche's hand had somehow moved to grip her thigh. Ichigo leaned back on her arms to put distance between them, but Quiche's hand stayed stubbornly on her leg.
"Don't even get me started with you," Quiche whispered angrily, glaring at Tart. "Why the hell didn't you cancel the alert when you found them?"
"I literally just got here, like, two minutes ago!" Tart argued, his angry voice just above a whisper. Pudding and Momo both shushed him off to his side. Tart rolled his eyes and pulled a device out of his pocket, tapping through a few screens in the dim light. "Okay, cancelled. Geez."
"Is that a phone?" Pudding whispered excitedly. "Can I have one?"
"No," Tart replied stubbornly. He replaced the device in his pocket. "Unless you know Loq, the communicators are pretty useless."
"Okay, listen," Ichigo interjected, "all we wanted to do is help out Lettuce and Pie on their date. Lettuce has a million allergies that don't translate well to your foods so we wanted to help with dinner. And after the meeting today and some of the people Lettuce and I talked to at the welcoming party, we didn't know if there was going to be someone who would try to mess up their date for them."
"You could have just sent a note down to the kitchen," Tart argued.
"And you think that Pie didn't already arrange for security?" Quiche asked flatly.
"Well, we snuck in here, didn't we?" Pudding whispered proudly. "Lousy security you guys have around here, huh?"
"Look, I know it was stupid," Ichigo interjected with a sigh. "But we really just wanted to do something nice for our friend."
"And they were a big, big help in my dad's kitchen!" Momo added in a cheerful whisper. "There's no way we would've been able to figure out all of the foods Lettuce can eat if Pudding and Ichigo weren't there!"
"Plus, the date is going really well!" Pudding said. "I mean, I didn't think Pie had a way with the ladies, but I guess today is full of surprises!"
A few beats of silence passed between the group. Tart blinked. "Wait, hang on, now I wanna see," he whispered. Pudding elbowed his side and pointed towards the ledge of the balcony with a grin.
Soon, all five of them were laying on their stomachs, peering over the edge of the 2nd floor down into the study. By some miracle, Lettuce and Pie hadn't noticed their presence, and were conversing over the dessert course of the dinner.
"Is she really gonna read all those books?" Tart whispered accusingly. "That's like, half the damn library."
Pudding shushed him quickly, nudging him with her shoulder. Momo snickered.
Ichigo could barely make out the soft murmurs between Pie and Lettuce, but she noted with curiosity that they were seated closer together. One of the books from the stack was open in front of them. It looked like an illustrated children's book, with colorful, full-page illustrations Ichigo could barely make out from her view.
"My mother used to read this one to me when I was young," Pie said quietly. "I would often imagine myself as the knight in the story."
He flipped the page over, revealing another spread of beautiful drawings. "I often think of her when I remember this particular fable."
"Your mother?" Lettuce asked quietly.
"Yes," Pie replied solemnly. He stilled, letting silence fill the space between them for a few moments. "She passed when I was a boy, just entering the academy to begin my training as a soldier."
"I'm so sorry," Lettuce murmured. She touched a gentle hand to Pie's knee.
Ichigo could see that Pie's brow was furrowed in thought. "No, please, save your sorrows," he said. "I've long since come to peace with her passing."
His eyes fell on the book open on the table. "It's a happy memory, this book and its story. Though, when I was assigned to the mission on Earth, I admit I had unrealistic expectations for what constitutes 'good' and 'evil.' After all, it was … confusing … meeting you and your friends. You weren't like the monsters I had imagined you would be. In fact, it was quite the opposite."
Pie looked up at Lettuce again. He gently placed his hand over hers.
"You taught me an important lesson, Lettuce. You taught me empathy, and kindness even when it makes little sense to be kind."
Lettuce smiled warmly, her face reddening. A few moments of silence passed between the couple, with no sounds but the crackling fireplace. Ichigo found herself holding her breath.
"May I kiss you?" Pie asked.
Lettuce's smile widened. She nodded, leaned in, and kissed him. It was short, sweet and soft, with both of them pulling away after a few brief moments.
Ichigo grinned in excitement for her friend. She knew that even though it likely wasn't their first kiss, it meant the world to Lettuce. At the same time, Ichigo couldn't help but feel like she was intruding on a special moment. She wondered if it was time to take her leave.
"Ew, gross!" Momo hissed. Ichigo shushed her immediately.
"That was smooth," Quiche remarked. "I'm impressed."
"But it's dorky that he asked first," Tart muttered.
"It's not dorky! It's cute!" Pudding insisted in a harsh whisper. "It shows he has a lotta respect for her, which obviously you have a lot to learn about!"
Ichigo snickered. She nudged Pudding with her elbow. "Want to get out of here?" she whispered.
Pudding turned her attention to Ichigo and nodded. "Yeah, I'm tired, and this date is getting a lil' too steamy for me!" she whispered back. "Let's get going!"
The small posse made their way back through the creaky door to the abandoned offices and down the narrow stairway. When they finally emerged in the white hallway, Ichigo let out a relieved breath and stretched her arms above her head. She'd grown stiff from all of the crawling, crouching and sitting on the floor.
"Oy, Momo," Tart said once he reached the bottom of the stairs, "do you need one of us to walk you back to the kitchens?"
"You kidding?" Momo exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. Her voice was back to its normal, slightly-too-loud volume. "I know this place better than you do, ya know! I can get back just fine on my own!"
"Are you sure?" Pudding asked curiously. She grabbed Momo's hand and began to swing it back and forth. "I'll miss you! Can we play again sometime soon?"
Momo's face split into an ecstatic grin. "I'd love to! I'm usually in the kitchens during dinner hour, after school's out! You can come hang out anytime!"
Pudding nodded and squeezed Momo's hand with a wide smile.
"Okay, well as much as I'm thrilled by this conversation," Quiche muttered, "I've had the longest damn day of my life, and I'd really like to get the girls back to their quarters."
Ichigo glared up at him, annoyed with his lack of tact. Jerk. "I don't need you to escort us," she said bluntly. "We'll find our way on our own."
"Sorry, non-negotiable," Quiche replied firmly.
"What he said!" Tart agreed with a nod. "You two have gotten us into enough trouble already. We're not letting you get up to anything else."
Ichigo sighed and crossed her arms. "Fine," she agreed.
After a few more minutes of hugs and waved goodbyes with Momo, Ichigo and Pudding both agreed to being teleported just outside their rooms. Ichigo stubbornly slapped her palm into Quiche's outstretched hand with more force than necessary. He raised one bow and smirked. "Sorry to break up the party," he said. Ichigo replied with a gruff sigh before she felt the ground leaving beneath her feet. She closed her eyes, and soon, she felt the ground return beneath her feet once again as they reached their destination. They landed just outside the door to the girls' quarters.
"Wait, hang on, can you guys teleport into our room whenever you want?" Pudding exclaimed as soon as she appeared after the teleportation.
"All of the private rooms in the compound have a sort of electromagnetic field that prevents anyone from teleporting into them," Quiche answered. "I thought Ira would have told you that."
Pudding shrugged. "I dunno, maybe I just forgot."
Ichigo realized her hand was still resting in Quiche's. She quickly slipped it out from his grip and took a step back. His attention returned to her just as she found her face warming slightly. She folded her hands behind her back.
"I–uh–" Ichigo stammered, "Sorry for all of the trouble today. And, um, thanks for covering for us."
As much as she didn't want to feed into Quiche's ego, Ichigo felt as though she owed him at least some semblance of thanks, after all she had put him through in one day – the outburst in the meeting and the false alarm sent to the commons staff.
Quiche's eyes flashed in amusement, a grin pulling at his lips.
"Of course," he purred. He tilted his head to one side. "For you, anything."
Ichigo wished he'd quit saying that.
At least, for her own sanity. Something in her chest burned whenever he said those three words, but she was keen to ignore it for a little while longer.
"Goodnight, Quiche," Ichigo said with a small smile.
She turned to where Tart and Pudding were arguing about something off to her right.
"Aw come on, you're no fun!" Pudding was whining.
"I don't care how buddy-buddy you are with the kitchen staff," Tart groaned, tossing his hands up in the air, "you can't just wander down there around dinner because you made friends with the one kid in this compound that's more crazy than you are!"
"I'm not a kid!" Pudding argued. "I'm the same age as you!"
Ichigo cleared her throat, drawing both of their attention. "Sorry about the trouble today, Tart," she said. She grinned and turned to punch in the code to their room lock in the pinpad off to the side of the door. Calling over her shoulder, she couldn't help but add: "We'll try not to get caught next time."
The line of expletives that came out of Tart's mouth was broken up by claims of "unbelievable idiocy" and a declaration that "it was a mistake to bring you two crazies here anyway." The Ichigo of days past may have gotten wrapped up in his rapid-fire line of insults, but Ichigo was growing used to Tart's ever-annoyed disposition, and chose to ignore him as she dragged Pudding inside the threshold of their room.
"Night, Tar-Tar!" Pudding called as Ichigo pulled her inside by her elbow.
"'Night, short stack!" Ichigo called out with a grin before hitting the button to close the door to their quarters. She exchanged a smile with Quiche, who looked like he was suppressing a laugh off to Tart's side.
"You take that back!" Tart yelled, following the gap of the door as it began to close. "I'm the same height as y–"
Click. The door slid closed, and Ichigo could barely hear a muffled, antagonized sigh from the other side.
Ichigo and Pudding collapsed onto the cushions of the sitting room in a fit of giggles. Ichigo's eyelids felt heavy, but her chest was light with the excitement of the evening, and all of the happy memories they'd made together.
Once the two girls recovered enough to sit up straight, Pudding gave Ichigo a high-five and a satisfied nod.
"Mission accomplished!"
(A.N./
Whoof, this chapter was a beast to edit. It's the longest one yet! I hope you all enjoyed the ~ shenanigans ~ !
Huge thank you to everyone who's reviewed the last chapter. I love hearing from all of you, so thank you so much for the kind words!
I also want to give a big shoutout to one of my readers who created fanart of the dresses from chapters 2-4! Their username is deadendlily on Tumblr. Go give their art some love if you have a Tumblr! And follow me on there while you're at it, if you haven't already – I go by pinkbowsandprettyprose.
Cheers and thanks again for reading!)